CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS ’92 : Candidates Say They Can’t Afford to Ignore Costly Slate Mailers

Howard Cohen thought he was doing the right thing when he refused to pay $5,000 to appear in the “Pro-Choice Voter Guide.” The first-time candidate for state Assembly was short on cash and had been warned the mailer was a profit-making venture, not a public service guide by an abortion rights group.

That was two months ago. Today, Cohen is paying for his decision. The mailer has been delivered to thousands of voters in Cohen’s San Fernando Valley district--bearing the name of his primary opponent, who bought the spot.

“It makes it look like those of us who aren’t on the mailer aren’t pro-choice,” said Cohen, who has spent countless hours explaining his predicament to voters. “It really isn’t right.”

With the primary campaign entering its final weekend, slate-mailer season--with all of its recurring controversies--has arrived in full force. It is an election season ritual, traditionally reserved for the closing days of a campaign, that combines equal parts politics, profits, deception and chutzpah.

Led by the preeminent firm BAD Campaigns, which is running the Democratic Senate races of state Controller Gray Davis and Rep. Mel Levine, political consultants and interest groups across California are sending millions of so-called slate cards to voters in every corner of the state.

Levine and Davis have each set aside at least $150,000 for the last-minute blitz of mailers, which appear as everything from “mailograms” to tabloid newspapers and urge voters to cast their ballots for lists of candidates, most of whom paid dearly to be included.

“Slate mailers will be crucial in this campaign,” said Hope Warschaw, spokeswoman for Levine, who is seeking the six-year Senate seat. “There is so much confusion about who is running for what seat. The slate mailers will be taken to the polling booths in record numbers this year.”

Even those opposed to the controversial campaign tactic do not dispute its effectiveness. Bruce Herschensohn, Republican candidate for the six-year Senate seat, has refused to pay to be included on any slate, but he is “very concerned” about his opponents who have purchased spots, a spokesman said.

“Bruce is morally opposed to paying two cents to anyone to put his name on something,” said Rick Manter, Herschensohn’s deputy campaign manager. “Many of these groups invent themselves at election time and it perverts the process. He is very upset about them.”

According to the secretary of state’s office, there are 67 active slate-mailer organizations in California, up from 35 four years ago. They range from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Democratic Slate to the Don’t Tax Food Slate to the Citizens to Preserve the Reagan Revolution.

A survey of voters in 1990 by the Charlton Research Co. in San Francisco, a Republican polling and strategy firm, found that 55% of respondents identified slate cards and guides as important sources of information about the election. They ranked ahead of television and radio advertisements, televised debates, newspaper endorsements and state political party recommendations.

“They are designed for people who haven’t made up their minds yet,” said Republican political consultant Allan Hoffenblum, who puts out a Republican slate card called the Non-Partisan Candidate Evaluation Council. “Some are good, some are bad, some are in between. It is like anything else.”

BAD Campaigns, founded by Michael Berman and Carl D’Agostino, is the grandfather of the booming slate-mailer business, using sophisticated computer-based targeting to reach ethnic and ideological Democratic audiences. BAD sent out 8 million slate cards with hundreds of thousands of variations in the 1990 primary, and an additional 9 million in the general election.

“They are the ones who invented it in terms of statewide campaigns,” said political consultant Karin Caves, who has worked with BAD in the past.

There is a wide diversity of slate mailers, including those motivated by ideological pursuits, partisan politics and plain profit-making. Even so, political consultants say, there is a simple rule of thumb for candidates: Buy into as many slate mailers as possible.

Mike Carpenter, the campaign manager for James Blatt, Cohen’s Democratic primary opponent in the 38th Assembly District, said he bought a spot on the “Pro-Choice Voter Guide” because he could not afford not to. Even with a fuss raised by some abortion rights groups about the mailer being misleading, Carpenter said it was the most effective way for Blatt to reach voters who favor abortion rights.

Under state law, slate mail organizations are required to identify themselves on the printed materials and indicate which candidates paid to be listed. The requirements, however, have not prevented abuses.

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Los Angeles issued a temporary restraining order against one slate-mail group when the Los Angeles County Young Republicans complained that the group--the Los Angeles County Young Republicans PAC--had misrepresented several endorsements on its slate card.

The judge prohibited the Los Angeles Young Republicans PAC--which is not affiliated with the Los Angeles County Young Republicans--from mailing any more cards until a hearing after the election. But there will be plenty of others to fill the void.

“This will be the mountain of mail weekend,” warned political consultant Ray McNally. “People should get their snow shovels out.”